Any UK SDers out there know the meaning of the word “smoot”? I’ve been told it has something to do with masonry wall construction. I’ve exhausted all the on-line Brit to USA dictionaries.
You may be thinking of a little stunt that was pulled by a bunch of MIT students some years ago. They measured the length of the Harvard Bridge over the Charles River in Boston by laying one Oliver Smoot ('62) end to end over the whole distance of the bridge, marking each “Smoot” along the way. You can still see the markings on the bridge (which is 364.4 Smoots plus an ear in length). See the story here: http://web.mit.edu/museum/fun/smoots.html
No, I’ve been told by my associate that they came across this over the pond in the UK. So, unless the British Bricklayers Union has started to use obscure American terms, I think we just have a coincidence.
I’ve been associated with the a small part of the UK building for the past couple of years, ( at the sharp end 
), not once have I heard this phrase.
Is the perhaps a Northern or Southern infference ?
Bookachow!
Smoot: A hole or opening at the foot of a wall, the bottom of a fence or hedge, etc., esp. one allowing the passage of hares, rabbits, or sheep; a narrow passage or entrance in a beehive.
Source: OED
Mjollnir–thanks, dude!
So it’s a doggie door, sans door. Doggie doorway, I suppose.